Carney says trade deal with U.S. ‘reinforces that Canadian advantage’

Prime Minister Mark Carney said a draft trade deal with the United States builds on Canada’s top bilateral trade terms and “reinforces that Canadian advantage.”

In a statement posted on social media Wednesday — just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a three-day pause on a new slate of tariffs on Canadian goods — Carney praised negotiators on both sides for hammering out an agreement.

Read more:

• Trump delays 50 per cent tariffs on Canada for three days
• Most Canadians oppose concessions in Canada-U.S. trade negotiations: poll
• Here’s the (long) list of items facing possible tariffs from the U.S.

“We are now moving towards an agreement that reinforces that Canadian advantage, including by securing the best terms in each of Canada’s most important strategic sectors and providing greater certainty about our future trading relationship,” Carney said.

Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said there was still work to finalize the deal, as he arrived for another meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington.

LeBlanc and Canada’s chief negotiator Janice Charette sat down with Greer Wednesday to continue working, after the terms of the deal they reached Tuesday were accepted by Trump.

Shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday, less than two hours before 50 per cent tariffs on a wide range of goods from Canada were set to take effect, Trump posted on Truth Social that a deal had been reached and the new tariffs were being paused for three days pending the finalization of the documents.

For the first time since the latest high-stakes negotiations started last month, LeBlanc and Greer held a short, joint availability for reporters following their brief meeting Wednesday.

LeBlanc and Charette have been back and forth to Washington since Trump announced the new tariffs in July, with the latest trip including multiple meetings since Aug. 10.

Greer said he’s “happy with where we ended up” and now has to brief Congress and American stakeholders on what the two sides have been talking about.

“We feel confident that we’ve reached an agreement that will not only continue to protect American workers, American jobs, American supply chains, but really strengthen the North American economy,” Greer said standing alongside LeBlanc outside the U.S. trade representative’s office.

Greer added he expects it will make North America an energy and manufacturing “powerhouse.”

The postponed round of tariffs would have hit $28 billion of Canadian goods, ranging from hockey sticks and ice skates to honey and some dairy products. Unlike previous tariffs Trump has imposed on Canada since his return to office in January 2025, these tariffs were not going to exempt any goods covered under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement, or CUSMA.

Trump had threatened to impose those tariffs over Canada’s dairy supply management system, retaliatory tariff-free auto quotas and provincial bans on American alcohol in most provinces.

A proclamation on the delay from The White House says Canada agreed to work toward resolving these trade irritants.

Speaking to reporters outside the White House Wednesday, Trump said the deal would lift all of Canada’s tariffs on the U.S. but didn’t specify what exactly he was referring to.

“It’s all subject to finalization,” he said. “I think it’s a very good deal for both parties.”

He stressed the agreement would be good for American farmers and manufacturers.

In a Truth Social post Tuesday, the president pointed to a revival of the Keystone XL pipeline as being part of the deal, followed by a fictional image of him appearing to yank a piece pipeline from the ground beside a grave marker that says ‘Buried by Biden.’

Former U.S. President Joe Biden revoked a key permit for the pipeline, which would have carried more oil from Alberta into the U.S.

The new tariff deadline if the documents aren’t finalized is 12:01 a.m. ET Saturday.

A spokesperson from the Dairy Farmers of Canada said in an emailed response that they are not commenting at this time due to a lack of concrete details.

The spokesperson said the position of the dairy sector remains the same and they want to see commitments in the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, known in Canada as CUSMA, upheld.

The U.S. Trade Representative said on social media the deal will include comprehensive market access for all American goods, economic security commitments and digital trade alignment.

LeBlanc would not give specifics but said supply management has been upheld.

“The prime minister was very clear we needed to protect supply management, we needed to ensure that the supply management regime remained entirely intact, and I’m confident that that’s the case.”

Carney said the government is “loyal” to the supply management system earlier this month.

Dan Darby, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Association CEO, welcomed the tariff pause, but said uncertainty on the future of both the 50 per cent tariffs and earlier duties on steel, aluminum and autos continue to harm Canadian businesses.

Darby is a member of the prime minister’s advisory council on Canada-U.S. relations, and said the council received a brief update Tuesday night.

“There was an update just last night saying ‘talks continue, stay tuned. We’ll let you know,'” Darby said in a phone interview.

Darby said any relief on the 50 per cent tariffs is a step in the right direction, but the manufacturing sector still needs to see movement on the steel and aluminum tariffs.

Progress on those tariffs “will help take a bit of pressure off Canadian manufacturers and also perhaps provide some hope and some kind of stability,” Darby said.

The industry association CEO said trade uncertainty is “the killer of any business.”

“That’s the number 1 driver on why (Canadian manufacturers are) holding back on investment or holding back in hiring or even looking at other supply chains,” he said.

Chris Swonger, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, said the organization appreciates Trump wanting to restore access for American spirits products across Canada.

Several Canadian provinces pulled U.S. booze from store shelves last year after Trump imposed tariffs. The bans on U.S. liquor remain in place in all but Saskatchewan and Alberta.

“These provincial bans have caused exports of American spirits to drop by more than 70 per cent, leaving American distillers caught in the middle of a broader trade dispute,” said Swonger in a statement.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said his party was relieved to hear there was a “new and excellent deal” in the works.

“We hope that over the next couple of days we’ll hear the good news that Mr. Carney will have kept his promise and Canadians will get (an) even better deal than we had before,” he said at a press conference in Charlottetown.

Poilievre added that deal should include zero tariffs on steel, aluminum, autos and lumber as well as an exemption to the “Buy America” policies.

Trump returned to office set on changing Biden’s Keystone decision. Earlier this year, he signed an executive order for permits to revive parts of the project.

It’s not clear how much of the trade talks between Canadian and American officials focused on the energy project. Carney spoke with Trump by phone Tuesday, hours before the U.S. was to bring in the punishing tariffs.

Canadian officials were also looking to see relief on existing tariffs that target steel, aluminum, lumber and autos.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 19, 2026.